“Just go away and leave me alone.” she tried to break free but he was twice her size and he held her tight as she struggled uselessly.
“Not until you hear me out, Bree, you owe me that much.” his voice dropped to a whisper.
She pulled her hand free and her palm struck him hard on the cheek, the sound reverberated around the clearing and everyone suddenly fell silent as they watched sweet, little Bree slap the huge wolf’s face.
“I don’t owe you anything, Nathaniel, I trusted you.” her voice was almost a whisper.
Seann came forward to protect his sister but Imogen shook her head and he stopped.
Nate looked at Bree in shock for a moment and then he cursed.
“Fuck this!” as he pulled her against his broad chest and kissed her.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
Liam
Liam stood by Seann as he waited to see if he would need to intervene and eject his new buddy from the compound. He hoped not, he liked Nate a lot and he was the newest member of their pack.
He didn’t know what had happened and Kandis would fill in the details of what he missed. But Bree didn’t seem to be complaining too much right now as she snaked her hands around his neck and kissed him back as the entire compound watched them.
Bree pulled back suddenly with a gasp and stared at him for a few seconds before she turned and fled, shredding her clothes to rags as she shifted on the fly and disappeared into the surrounding woods. She was gone in a flash.
Nate made a move to follow her but Seann put a steadying hand on the other man’s arm and shook his head slowly.
“Let her go, Nate. Bree will take a little while to calm down and she won’t listen to what you have to say before then. I know my sister and when she is hurting, it goes deep, give her some time and a little space.”
“Your sister! She never told me her last name, I had no idea. I tried to find her after she ran out on me, but I had so little to go on.” he shook his head and Seann felt a little sympathy for him.
He knew what a pain in the ass his sisters could be, but he would also protect them with his life and right now he needed to know whether he could trust this wolf.
“How do you know my sister?” he asked.
“I won’t go into detail because frankly, it’s none of your business, Seann, but Bree and I met a couple of years ago. I had the best weekend of my life with her and then she ran away after a stupid misunderstanding. I need to get her to listen to me, I need to explain.”
Seann sized him up for a moment and then his shoulders relaxed and he clapped the other man on the back.
“I wish you luck with that.” he grinned.
“Luck with what?” Hope said as she and Rafe came up beside them.
Nate visibly paled and then shook his head to clear his thoughts. Even though they were identical he could smell the differences in them. Hope’s hair was also longer and dark red as opposed to Bree’s black pixie cut.
“She didn’t tell me she was a twin either,” he added as he stomped off into the trees removing his shirt and discarding it on the ground.
He howled as he shifted and his huge black wolf took off in the direction Bree had gone. Liam felt a little sorry for him. Bree Donovan was a little spitfire and he hoped Nate knew what the hell he was getting himself into.
Kandis came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist and he closed his eyes for a moment and breathed in her intoxicating scent.
“Looks like little Bree has been keeping secrets.” he could hear the laughter in her voice.
“I hope she isn’t too hard on him, I kinda like having him around,” he said as they began to walk to the starting point of their run. It was dark now and the weather was perfect for it.
India took the baby from her sister and watched from the porch with Kali and Sophia as the adults gathered at the far end of the clearing. She had eventually persuaded Garrett to go on the run with the rest of the pack, despite his objections.
“I am going to bathe Everly and Kali and put them to bed and then Sophia and I are going to make smores and watch a movie. You will be back before the final credits roll.” she smiled.
“What if you go into labor?”
“Garrett, I haven’t even had a twinge yet, it is extremely unlikely but even if I went into labor the minute you left, I will not have a baby before you come back. It takes a while with the first, even for wolves it’s at least several hours.”
“Okay, I will go but if you feel anything at all call the gate and have Lucas come get me.”
Lucas was on night-shift gate duty for a month for biting Sophia and she agreed she would call him as soon as she felt even a twinge.
They waved them off and Kali didn’t blink when she saw them shift and the pack of wolves ran into the night. Everly waved her arms and laughed and India knew they would introduce this little one to the pack early too. It wasn’t something that you sprang on a teenager, they had to know what they were from an early age or they would spend their lifetime in and out of therapy.
She ushered them into the house, looking forward to a little breathing space. Garrett was her world but he was a little intense trying to protect her and a few hours without him breathing down her neck was a welcome change.
This was Liam’s first run with Kandis as his mate and they ran side by side following Seann and Imogen as the pack whipped through the trees and deep into the national park. Normally as enforcers, they would bring up the rear but Garrett volunteered to do the honors tonight, he was out of sorts without India by his side.
Bree joined them from wherever she had been and ran with her sister and Rafe. He noticed that Nate’s black wolf was on her tail the entire run. If she was aware of him there, she gave no indication, but there would be fireworks with these two before the evening was over.
The air was cool on his face and when they reached the summit at their halfway point the wolves ran in a circle until Seann raised his huge head and howled and the rest of the pack followed. Imogen’s wolf looked like a ghost in the pale moonlight and there was something otherworldly about her snow-white fur and luminescent blue eyes.
White wolves were extremely rare and were reported to have magical powers. Imogen certainly had some awesome gifts, her unmatched speed for one and her premonitions for another but he didn’t know if he would call them magical.
Liam watched his mate raise her pale blond head and howl and his wolf howled in return. Kandis was stunning in her wolf form as well as in her human and the day after a full moon run was usually a bust as a wolf's hormones go into overdrive and mated pairs would lock themselves in their respective homes and stay up all night having sex. Many pups would be conceived tonight and he hoped theirs would be one of them if it hadn’t already happened.
His desire skyrocketed and she turned her head toward him and her blue eyes were unwavering as he caught the scent of her arousal. He could have sworn he saw her wolf grin before she took off again, even knowing full well that Imogen would overtake them in seconds and leave them in her dust.
When Imogen lifted her head and howled again, they stopped dead in their tracks as the white streak flew past them and Liam’s blood ran cold. That was the howl of a wolf in extreme pain, not a victory howl. Seann flew past them too and Garrett on his heels instead of at the back of the pack. Something was wrong! He and Kandis followed quickly behind them, Hope and Bree would bring the pack home safely, they had to get to the Den as quickly as possible and see what the hell was going on.
It felt like it took them an age to get back when in reality it was a shorter journey home again than the one out here as they took every shortcut available. He ran harder than he had ever run before and his heart was pounding in his chest when they finally broke through the trees and the Den was in sight.
The cabin was ablaze with light but there was no-one around. Imogen, Seann and Garrett had already shifted and gone inside while he and Kandis circled the building to make sure no-one was lurking out
side. Nothing was amiss in the immediate vicinity and it was difficult to pick up individual scents with the number of wolves who had been here recently. He needed to go inside and make sure India and the kids were all okay.
He heard Garrett howl and ran through the hallway just in time to see him scoop India off the floor and into his arms. He carried her through to the sofa in the living room, she was unconscious and her face and clothes were covered in blood. Hope and Bree burst in through the front door and Hope called out for someone to bring some hot water while Kandis and Bree went to check on the kids.
“Sophia and Kali are asleep on top of Sophia’s bed,” Kandis came through from the back of the house and knelt beside Imogen and took her hand as she watched them clean up her sister. Bree came running downstairs too but her eyes went straight to her brother who immediately tensed.
“What about Everly, is she still asleep?” Imogen's eyes never left her sister's face as Hope cleaned off the blood and they could see several deep gashes on her cheeks and a nasty one on her forehead.
“Everly isn’t in her room, Imogen. Her scent has faded, she isn’t anywhere in the house.” Bree said softly.
Imogen jumped up and Seann’s arms came around her and he held her to stop her from running.
“I had a vision that India was hurt and needed me but nothing about my baby. Oh God, Seann. She is just a baby.” Imogen started to cry and Kandis felt her pain cut deep into her heart.
“We will find her, Imogen, I swear we will find her.” Seann nodded to Liam.
“Liam, organize the pack, I need your help to bring my daughter home and when you find out who took her, bring the bastards to me, alive. This one I want to deal with myself.”
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
Kandis
Rafe wanted to sedate Imogen but she was having none of it.
“I am coming with you Seann or I am going on my own but she is my daughter and you will not fucking stop me from looking for her, understood!” her eyes were blazing and Kandis had a new respect for her alpha’s mate. She wasn’t taking any shit from him tonight.
“Okay, Imogen,” he agreed reluctantly, “But stay in the compound and stay close to Kandis. I can’t do my best if I am worried about you too. Bree is going to scout the area for any strange scents, let me know if she finds anything.
He hurried out the door with Liam. Garrett was staying with his mate until she regained consciousness. Rafe was confident her wolf would heal her, it would just take a little time.
Imogen bent and kissed her sister on the forehead and followed Kandis and Bree out into the night.
“Bree, see if you can pick up any unusual scents around the house. Whoever took her had to get in and out somewhere but I get the feeling they didn’t just walk out the front door.” Kandis said as she breathed in deeply but there were too many different scents for her to distinguish between them.
Bree stopped at the side of the garage and sniffed, holding up her hand to stop them asking questions and break her concentration. Imogen gasped as the petite wolf swung herself up onto the roof of the garage and continued on all fours, her nose twitching. She stood up and took a leap onto the branch of a huge oak and raised her hand in victory.
“He took her out the bedroom window, across the garage, onto this tree and I would bet he left in one of the vehicles parked at the back of Roisin’s house. We need to find out which one is missing and get Jay on it now!” she jumped down from the tree as agile as a cat.
“How do you know they left in a car?” Imogen asked.
“I can follow a wolf’s scent for miles, this one stops dead and there are exhaust fumes in the air, despite the wind. We don’t monitor vehicles leaving the compound as stringently as we do when they are coming in, especially if the vehicle is known to the guard.”
“And on the night of a run, excitement is high and the gate is monitored by teenagers.” Kandis added, “Whoever took her knew we would be preoccupied.”
“I have never encountered this person before either which makes finding her a little more difficult,” Bree said, taking Imogen's hand and squeezing it tightly. “But we will find her Imogen, my guess is some wolf got greedy and knows Seann would pay a handsome sum to get his daughter back.”
“I agree,” Jay said as he and Nate came quickly toward them.
Bree stiffened and ignored Nate and brought Jay up to speed on what she unearthed so far.
Jay ran to Roisin’s next door and discovered that the missing vehicle was an older style red ford pickup that they used for hauling supplies in and out of the compound. No-one would look twice as it left through the gates. Jay took out his cell phone and called in another favor and Kandis wondered just how connected he really was.
He ended the call and turned to Imogen again.
“Everly is too young to identify her kidnapper which is a huge plus, they have no reason to harm her. Someone needs to stay by the phone and wait for a call. Imogen why don’t you sit with India.”
“Garrett is in the house with her. I need to look for my daughter, I can’t stand around waiting.” Imogen said pacing up and down in front of the Den.
“Imogen, she’s awake!” Garrett called out and she ran onto the porch and burst in through the front door to see India groggy and trying to sit up.
“Indi, are you okay?”
“I will be, Imogen. I am so sorry, she took me by surprise. I tried to stop her when she said she was here for Everly. I attacked her but she was stronger than me and... well that’s the last thing I remember before now.”
“A woman! What exactly did she say?” Jay asked, “Did she mention anything about money or ransom?”
“Where’s the white wolf’s pup. Give me the baby and nobody will get hurt.” India relayed what the woman had said. “I told her that wasn’t going to happen and attacked her but she is as strong as a male wolf.”
“Description!” Jay barked as he pulled out his phone again.
“Tall, long brown hair and a hint of an accent, South American maybe.” she started to shiver and Garrett put a blanket over her.
Jay took out his phone and relayed everything to his contact and he turned to the others.
“Spread the word, tell the pack what we know already, someone may have an idea who this person is. Imogen, we need something of Everly’s that will have her scent.”
She went upstairs and came back with the tiny sheet for the baby’s crib and Bree took it from her and folded it.
“This is perfect.”
Jay’s phone rang.
“Imogen, the truck was found a few miles away in a grocery store parking lot. She obviously switched cars there.”
“Let’s go!” she called as they ran out the door and piled into Jay’s truck. “Garrett, tell Seann where we have gone when he comes back. Nate, please let the rest of the pack know what’s going on.”
Kandis got in the bed of the truck and Bree and Imogen sat upfront. Seann and Liam came running into view and jumped easily into the moving truck and sat down beside her. She didn’t miss Bree Donovan’s sigh of relief when she realized Nate wasn’t coming with them.
She told them that India was awake and what she said and Seann’s face was a mask of fury as she retold the tale.
“I will rip this bitch’s arms and legs from her fuckin body when we catch her.” he roared and Kandis knew he meant every single word. Seann stood up in the back and yelled for them to open the gates as they approached and they drove right through into the night.
Kandis knew they had to rethink their compound security, it was just too easy for their enemies to get inside their perimeter. A move to the mountain would be expensive and a lot of hard work but Jay could police the area properly without the limitations imposed upon them by living in the confines of a human population.
Liam squeezed her hand and she forced a smile as they pulled up beside the abandoned truck and they jumped over the side to take a closer look.
“Let me pick up the scent first!�
� Bree ordered and Kandis had to suppress a smile as her scowling alpha grunted but did as his pint-sized sister asked. She gave Imogen back the baby’s sheet, opened the doors and crawled around the inside, committing the smell to memory. India was the only pack member who could challenge Bree for tracking ability and everyone knew it as they watched her work.
Imogen pressed the soft fabric to her face and inhaled her baby’s familiar scent and suddenly her head was filled with images of her baby daughter. She was in a wooden playpen with some unfamiliar toys but seemed totally unconcerned with her surroundings. The picture shifted and Imogen saw her father’s face. He was sitting on a porch with a beer in his hand, smiling at someone who was just out of her line of sight. She knew she needed to force herself to relax to get the most from this vision but she was struggling to bring the picture into focus under the circumstances.
Just as quickly as it had come it was gone again and Seann had to hold her for a few minutes as she went weak in the knees. The visions sapped so much of her energy but she would bounce back just as quickly.
“Seann, I saw her. I also saw my father and I don’t know what that means exactly but it’s as good a place as any to start.
They piled back into Jay’s truck and Kandis and Liam offered to drive the red truck and follow them as they turned in the direction of the place that Jonathan Rose now called home.
“Seann will call the compound and speak to their alpha, Kaleb Stevens so that we can get in easily, no point in alerting everyone if one of their wolves is responsible. We will need to leave this truck out of sight, Seann will stop a couple of miles before their compound and we can get back into Jay’s truck with them.”
“Do you think Imogen’s Dad could be involved?” she asked him.
“No, I don’t see it, but Imogen seems to think there is a connection of some kind.”
“Seann looks furious enough to kill.” she shivered.
“That’s his kid, no one would blame him if he did.”
They rode the rest of the way in silence and Kandis knew this was just another facet of pack life. Their justice was simple and swift and if you go around kidnapping innocent babies then you deserved to die.
Children of the Moon: Book Three Page 12